International

More and more people are having trouble paying their bills. Even as costs rise, our salaries, benefits and OAP pension have been falling behind for years. Grocery shopping, gas and electric, filling up the tank, rent, everything is becoming more and more expensive, which has led to an increasing number of people having problems.

In a statement on the 100th day of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, SP-senator and President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Tiny Kox has again called on the Russian authorities to immediately bring the war to an end and issued a strong appeal for the restoration of peace with justice.

The billions that the government has made available for defence can be put to better use,' says SP MP Jasper van Dijk in response to Minister Ollongren's defence memorandum. Higher wages for personnel are justified, but the government has gone completely overboard. More than five billion extra comes down to an increase of the defence budget by forty percent. This is mostly a party for the arms industry.

A special procedure is needed to review the placing in foster care of children who are victims of the benefits scandal. And parents in the benefits scandal who ask for a review of the decision to place their child in foster care must have a decision within six months - and preferably sooner - as to whether this is correct.

We cannot accept Russia's aggression against Ukraine. But we must make sure that the war does not last a day longer than necessary. It has been the third month of Putin's despicable war against Ukraine, and there is no end in sight.

This week, Osman Kavala, a political prisoner in Turkey, was sentenced to life imprisonment on the basis of false and fabricated accusations. This is a disgrace. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Kavala, who has been imprisoned by the Turkish authorities for five years, is in illegal detention. Turkey's failure to respect this binding decision of the European Court of Human Rights is a disgrace to human rights and democratic values. As a result, the Council of Europe is considering terminating Turkey's membership.

The failure to tackle Russian oligarchs effectively is not accidental, but a consequence of a system that pampers oligarchs. What we need is not Stef Blok, but a change of system.

Last year, the SP carried out a survey of the Dutch fire brigade. The results were recently shared with the new Minister of Justice and Security. In the debate, the SP submitted several proposals concerning our fire service. SP Member of Parliament Michiel van Nispen wants fire fighters to have more say in decisions relating to their work: 'The Lower House supports us and the fire service. This is good news, because we need the input of the men and women of the fire brigade as to how we can improve their work'.

Parliamentary Assembly President Tiny Kox has condemned atrocities by the Russian army and promised all possible assistance in investigating war crimes following the first official visit to Ukraine since hostilities began.